Thermostatic controller.



u. A. DUNEAM. TnEnMosTATIc oombLLrn. APPLICATION FILED APB. 8, 1907.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

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W/ TNE SSE S N VEN TOI? zag/fm gnam@- A 7TOHNE Y S G. A. DUNHAM. THBRMOSTATIC CONTROLLER.

APYLIGATION rum) una, 1907.

907,478. v Patented De@.22,1908.

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w/rNEssEs www V60 ATTORNEYS C. A. DUNHAM.

THEBMOSTATIG CONTROLLER.

Arrmonlon rILnn Arma, 1907.

907,478, l Patented Deo.22, 1908.

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cLAY'rQN AUBRA DUNHAM, or irAnsnALL'rowN, IOWA.

THIERMOSTATIC CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led April 8,

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

1907. Serial No. 367,051.'

- act description.

' mostatic controller employed; Fig. 3 is a' The invention relates to certain improvements in means for thermostatically controllin the passage of'fluids, and more particular y to means whereby a thermostatic device disposed in one conduit or passage may be operated not only by a variation in the temperature of the fluid in' that conduit or passage,but also by a variation in the temperature of a fluid flowing in a conduit or passage separate and distinct therefrom.

The invention consists Vin certain features of construction and combination'of parts, all of which will be fully set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be' had to thev accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the iig- Figure l is a diagrammatic illustration of a portion of a water. purifying and cooling system em loying a thermostatic controller constructe according to my invention; Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the thertransverse section on the line 3 3 .of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5'is a central vertical section taken in a plane at right angles to the plane of Fig. 2, and on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

ln order to clearly set forth my invention and the method of operation of the same, l have illustrated it in connection with an icemaking plant in which it is customary to thoroughly purify the water before freezing the same. ln order to accomplish this result the water is often converted into steam, and the steam condensed to remove all nonvolatile impurities, and this water of condensation is heated to the boiling point in aA the condenser or to the absorber, as the case may be, before being delivered to. the distributing tank or the freezing cans.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings l have illustrated a conventional form of re-boiler 10 having an inlet lconduit 11 and a main outlet conduit 12. llVithiny the re-boiler and adjacent the top'thereof there is provided a trough 1,3 constituting the skimmer and communicating with.' a waste outlet pipe 14. The reboiler isl heated in any suitable manner, .and

l any suitable form of float valve mechanism,

boiler may be automatically controlled. The outlet conduit 12 fromthe re-boiler leads to a fore-cooler illustrated in the mosphere, whereby the heated Water -is materially reduced in temperature. The outlet from the fore-cooler leads Ato a 'heat interchanger 16, wherein the water is further cooled by the action of the ammonia flowing through a conduit 17 leading from the expansion coils and delivering through a conduit 18 leading to the compressor or the absorber. From the heat interchanger 16 the water is deliveredA through a conduit 19 to the freezing cans, or as shown in the drawings, to a distributing tank 20 having an outlet .21. Within the conduit leading from the g-re'boiler to'v the distributing tank or freeailig cans l may, 'if desired, insert a 'suitable iilter 22 for additionally purifying the Water.

distributing tank, l provide my improved thermostatic controller 23 having two independent passages therethrough. One of these assages communicates with the heat intero anger and with the distributing tank and is adapted to becontrolledby a suitable thermostatic valve, while the other of said passages communicates with the outlet conduit 14 from the skimmer of the re-'boiler and delivers the waste products through a conduit 24 preferablyleading to the sewer. It is evident that no special form of re-boiler', fore-cooler or inte'rchangerneed be employed, as the operation of my improved system is entirely independent of the structural details of these4 arts, it only being essential that the main discharge conduit from the re-boiler' be opened by4 the hot impurities and be later automatically closed by the the inlet conduit 11 may be provided with.

whereby the delivery of'water to the -re-V drawing has a coil 15 exposed to the atwithin the conduit 19 and preferably intermediate the heat interchanger and the of the conduits, and thus thevalve may be.

opened by the passage of a liquid of one temperature through one conduit and closed by the passage of a liquid of a different tempera- ,ture through the other conduit.

As illustrated, the body oi the device is formed of three se arate sections 25, 26 and 27. The first of t ese serves as a dome or chamber for the expansion disk; the second is provided with inlet and outlet assages for one of the conduits, and the thir" is rovided with inlet and outletpassages for t e other conduit. The upper lirst mentioned section isformed of an outer dome-shaped wall 28 having an outwardly directed iiange 29 adjacent the lower edge thereof, whereby this section may be bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the adjacent section. Within the dome and lying substantially parallel to the outer wall 28, I provide an inner wall 30 spaced therefrom by a plurality of radially disposed partitions 31 extendin from the bottom of the section along t ie circumferential sides of the dome but not extendin across the top portion thereof as illustrated in Fig. 5.A 'lhis inner wall30 is provided with a single perforation or 'opening 32 intermediate two of the radial partitions 31,

and the inner wall 30 is connected to the outer wall 28 at the top of these two partiticns by a transverse wall 33. At the center of the top of the dome the inner and outer walls are connected by a cylindrical post 34 having an axial passage therethrough for the adjusting mechanism of the expansion disks. By means of the walls arranged as above described, I form a lurality of'separate compartments 35, alf) of which communicate with the space between the domes at the top, and there is also providedl a compartment 36 similar to the compartments 35 ut prevented fr om communicating' there- `with by-means of the transverse `wall 33;

said compartment 36 being in communication with the interior of the inner dome by means of the perforation 32.

The second orintermediate section 26, a transverse' section of which is illustrated in Fig. 4, is formed of an outer cylindrical wall 37 having outwardly extending iianges" 38 and 39 adjacent the ends thereof, whereby the section may be rigidly secured to the remaining sections. Extending` through one side, of the cylindrical wall 37 there 1s provided a passage into which may be screwthreaded a conduit 40 communicating with the conduit 24 leading to the sewer or a suitable container for the waste products, and the o posite side of the cylindrical wall is provided with a assage into which may be screw-threaded t e conduit 41 communicating with the conduit 14 leading from the reboiler. Within this section l provide a lurality of partition walls so constructed t at the Huid entering the conduit 41 may liow through the passage 49 of the middle section and into the interior of the dome and escape through the ports 32 and 53 and compartment 36 to the conduit 40 but cannot pass to the compartments 35. Preferably, these partitions include a curved partition 42 lyin 1n alinement with the inner cylindrical wal 30 of the uptper section and connected to the upper cylin rical wall by radial walls 43v in a inement with two of the radial partitions 31. This curved wall and the two radial walls form with the outer cylindrical wall 37, a compartment 44 in communication with the pipe 40and having an open top in communication with the compartment 36 ofthe upper section. Op osite to the curved wall 42 and concentric t erewith l provide a second curved wall 45 lying on the circumference of a smaller circle and, therefore, lying nearer the center of the device than does the wall 30 ofthe first section.- This curved wall 45 is connected to the cylindrical wall by two parallel partitions. 46, whereby a compartment -47 is formed which communicates with the inlet conduit 41. The bottom of this compertinent is closed and the top is prevented i'rom communicating with the compartment 35 located above by means of a top wall 48, which latter is provided with a perforation or passage 49, whereby communicatigp is estabshed with the interior of the inner-dome of the upper section.. The remaining portion rit of the top of this section lying within the cylindrical wall() ofthe upper section is closed -by an inverted cone-shaped wall 50, whereby the interior of the dome ofthe upper section is prevented from communicating with any portionof the intermediate section 26, except the small compartments 44 and 47.

The inverted cone-sha ed wall 50 is provided with' a depending cy indrical'projection 51 serving as a packing box for the valve stem, and is also provided with a trough or passage 52 leading to the compartment 44 and communicating therewith by means of an aperture 53 to afford a drainage for anydiquid which may collect within the inner `domel The remaining space within the section 26 and lying below the conical wall 50 is subdivided into two compartments 54 and 55 b means of a wall 56, the end portions of Whic lie along a diameter of the section at right angles to the diameter defined by the inlet and outlet conduits, and the intermediate portion of which lies in the are of the same circle as does the wall 45. Both of these compartments communicate with corresponding compartments in the lower section, and the compartment 55 communicates with the two compartments 35 of the top section lying on o posite sides of the compartment 36, while t e compartment 54 communicates with the other three compartments 35.

The lower or bottom section 27 is formed somewhat similar to aT-joint with a flat upper plate 57 closing the bottom of the intermedlate section and ada ted to be rigidly secured thereto. One sidb of the section is pro-vided with a threaded aperture adapted to receive the conduit 19 leadingr from the heat interchanger, and the op osite side of the section is provided with a t readed aperture adapted to receive the conduit 58 leading to the distributing tank or to the freezing can-s. The lower end of the section is provided with an a erture 59 normally closed byfa plug and w ereby the device may be drained or the valve removed. Direct communication between the conduits 19 and 58 is prevented by means of a transverse partition 60 lying in alinement with or directly connected to the partition 56 of the intermediate section. -The to plate 57 of the lower section intermediate t is partition and the conduit 19 is provided with a valve seat 61 through Whichcommunication between the com artment 54 of the intermediate section andp the conduit 19 of the lower section is established, Adjacent the upper end of the partition 60 and directly connecting theV compartment 54 to the conduit 58 I may, if desired, provide an aperture 60a to facilitate the drainage of said compartment.

Located within the inner dome of the top section, I provide one or more thermostatic disks 62, each containing a liquid of high volatility. The lower one` of these disks is operatively connected to the valve stem 63 extending through the packing box within the cylindrical projection 51 and supporting the valve 64.u on the under side o the.valve seat 61` T le upper thermostatic disk is connected to a threaded stem 65 extending up through the hollow cylindrical connecting post 34 and terminating within an upwardly extending interiorly threaded collar 66 carried by the upper section. Within this collar I provide a suitable packing and locking nut 67, whereby the stem 65 may be rigidly secured in place and the escape of liquid from the interior of thedome effectively prevented.

In the operation of my, improved system,

the re-boiler 10 is filled to the desired extent through the conduit 11"or in any other suitable manner, and is then heated to the boiling point and the impurities contained in the' that the liquid has been heated tothe desired i extent and is in condition to be drawn ofi and conducted to the freezing cans. The device is therefore so constructed that the skimmings escaping through the conduit 14 enter the thermostatic controller through the conduit 41, and pass through the aperture 49 into direct contact with the thermostatic disks. From the interior of the dome they may pass through the apertures 32 and 53 into the compartments 36 and 44 and out through the waste conduit 24. The thermostatic disks are thus heated and the resulting expansion causes the valve 64 to open and permit the passage of the purified water from the main outlet pipe 12 of the reboiler through the fore-cooler, heat interchanger, &c., to the thermostatic Controller by way of the conduit 19. ing through the conduit 19 :Hows past the va ve into the compartment 54 and thence into the space between' the inner and outer domes.

The liquid enterl The water rising-to the top of two ofthe opposite partitions 31 and flowing across the top of the dome, Hows down through the other compartments 35 into the compartment 55 of the intermediate section. From here the water flows directly to the conduit 58 and to the freezing cans or to the distributing tank,

as the case may be. The water on its way from the re-boiler to the thermostatic controller has been cooled to a com aratively low temperature ley-means of the fibre-cooler and heat interchanger, and, therefore, in passing through the space between the two domes slowly but eventually serves to` cool the thermostatic disks and to close the valve. As the -skimmings come in direct contact with the disks, it will be noted that the valve is opened very quickly, but as the cold Water doesnot come in direct contact therewith but only passes through the space between the domes, some little time occurs before the valve is closed, and meanwhile a considerable quantity of water-has been drawn off from the re-boiler. The re-boiler is now refilled tothe desired extent and the operation is repeated. i

It will be noted that only a small quantity of. the liquid delivering through the overflow conduit 1s permitted to escape, as its action upon the expansion disks is almost instantaneous and as soon as the disks have operated to open the valve, the level of the liquid within the re-boiler yislowered and further overflow is stopped. The re-cooling of the expansion disksis then facilitated by the completel drainage of the skimmings through the small port 53 at the end of the trough or channel 52.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to4 secure by Letters u Patentz 1. In combination, a conduit, a thermostatic device located in said conduit and operated by variations in the temperature of a fluid therein, and a second conduit separate from said first-mentioned conduit and having a portion thereof substantially encircling said thermostatic device but separate therefrom, whereby the latter is also operated by variations in the temperature of a fluid in the second conduit.

2. ln combination, a conduit including a chamber, a thermostatic device located within said chamber and subjected to the thermostatic action of the lluid therein, and a lsecond conduit separate therefrom and having a portion thereof forming a jacket about said chamber, whereby said thermostatic device is also subjected to the thermostatic action ol' the fluid in said second conduit.

3. A thermostatic controller, comprising a conduit, a plurality ol thermostatic disks operatively connected together and acting inmultiple and located in said conduit, and

a second conduit separate and distinct from the first-mentioned conduit and having a portion thereof adjacent said thermostatic disks, whereby said disks are subjected to variations in the temperature of the fluids in both conduits, but are directly exposed to the fluid of only the first conduit.

4. A thermostatic controller, comprising a casing having two separate passages therethrough, one of said passages having a valve y located therein and the other of said passages having a chamber therein, and a thermogether.

comme ing independent inlet and outlet passages leading to said valve and substantially surrounding Vsaid chamber.

6. A thermostatic controller, comprising a casing having .a chamber located therein and provided with inlet and outlet passages, and said casing also having a passage therethrough independent of said chamber and substantially surrounding the same, a thermostatic device within vsaid chamber, and a valve within said last mentioned assage and operatively connected to said t ermostatic device. r

' 7. ln combination, a conduit having a valve located therein, a second conduit, and a thermostatic device exposed to the action of the fluid in one conduit for opening the valve and eX osed to the fluid of the other conduit for c osing said valve, said thermostatic device comprising a plurality of thermostatic disks operatively connected to- 8. A thermostatic controller, comprising a casing having a doublev wall or chamber therein, an inlet and an exhaust for said chamber, a plurality of thermostatic disks within said chamber operatively connected together and acting in multiple, a valve operatively connected to said disks', and a separate inlet and outlet for the space Within said doubleiwall.

9, A thermostatic controller, comprising a casing having a double walled chamber therein, an inlet and an outlet for said chamber, a thermostatic device within said vchamber, a member adapted to be operated by said device, and a separate inlet and outlet for the space within said double Wall, Whereby a fluid of a different temperature may flow therethrough.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAYTON AUBRA DUNHAM. 

